Manitoba service dog comforts child victims in court

WINNIPEG — She’s the newest employee in the Manitoba Justice department and deals with some of the most sensitive cases.

However, it’s not who you may expect.

Milan, a three-year-old Labrador retriever, is a highly trained service dog who is used to help comfort crime victims. She works mostly with young children who have been through horrific incidents.

“When we have to talk to them about terrible things, she is their support,” victim services worker and Milan’s handler Vivian Bott said. “She’s a huge stress reliever for them and their families.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When we have to talk to them about terrible things, she is their support," victim services worker and Milan's handler Vivian Bott said. "She's a huge stress reliever for them and their families."

Bott has been working in the child victim unit of the Manitoba Justice Department for 13 years.

RELATED: Trauma dog in a Calgary court a Canadian first

“We get involved with children and their families after charges have been laid,” Bott said. “Predominantly sexual abuse victims, sexually exploited youth, vulnerable adults and adult survivors of abuse who may have to come to court to testify about what has happened to them.”

Milan has been in Winnipeg since July and so far has met with nearly 50 victims.

Bott was emotional while speaking about the immediate impact Milan has on child victims. She recalled a recent meeting with a six-year-old victim. The little girl was shy and very reluctant to talk about the abuse she had endured. Milan put her head in the child’s lap and she opened up to lawyers.

“She’s worth her weight in gold, this dog,” Bott said. “The effect she has on people is immediate; their faces just light up.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "She's worth her weight in gold, this dog," Bott said. "The effect she has on people is immediate; their faces just light up."

Milan was raised by the Pacific Assistance Dog Society (PADS) in Burnaby, B.C. At eight weeks of age she began working with a dog trainer, learning basic obedience and how to behave in a variety of community and social settings. At 16 months of age, she returned to the PADS facility for 14 months of advanced skills training.

On Sept. 26, Bott and Milan made history when the trauma dog sat next to a victim inside the law courts for the first time in this province.

READ MORE: Three new recruits to Sask. victim services teams

Milan joins the ranks of 18 victim-support dogs across the country. Eleven of which have been trained and placed by PADS, including the first one in the country.

Canada’s very first victim services dog is a yellow Labrador retriever named Caber. Caber joined the Delta Police Victim Services team in British Columbia, in July 2010 as part of the for the K9 Trauma Project.

However, the first pup in Canada to sit next to a victim was a service dog in Calgary in 2014. Hawk supported a victim in Calgary in December 2014, and another dog was permitted in an Edmonton courtroom in March.

In 2015, Caber made the leap to the courtroom and helped a 10-year-old girl endure the pain of testifying about an alleged sexual assault, and in doing so has become the first canine to assist a child during a trial in British Columbia.

Victim-support dogs can now be found in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.